Biomaterial Database

Public policy versus individual rights and responsibility: an economist's perspective. 2011

Frank J Chaloupka

University of Illinois, 444 Westside Research Office Bldg, 1747 West Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. fjc@uic.edu

Interventions to reduce childhood obesity entail ethical considerations. Although a rationale exists for government to intervene in a way that limits individual rights while protecting the public's health, a clear economic rationale also exists. The markets for goods and services that contribute to obesity are characterized by multiple failures that create an economic rationale for government to intervene (eg, consumers' lack of accurate information regarding obesogenic foods and beverages). If effective public policies for reducing obesity and its consequences are to be developed and implemented, individual rights and government interests must be balanced.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009765	Obesity	A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the recommended standards, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).
D011640	Public Policy	A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.	Social Policy,Affirmative Action,Migration Policy,Population Policy,Social Protection,Action, Affirmative,Migration Policies,Policies, Migration,Policies, Population,Policies, Public,Policies, Social,Policy, Migration,Policy, Population,Policy, Public,Policy, Social,Population Policies,Protection, Social,Public Policies,Social Policies
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D005502	Food	Substances taken in by the body to provide nourishment.	Foods
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006806	Human Rights	The right of the individual to cultural, social, economic, and educational opportunities as provided by society, e.g., right to work, right to education, and right to social security.	Linguistic Rights,Right to Housing and Shelter,Rights of Indigenous Peoples,Collective Human Rights,Equal Rights,Human Rights, Collective,Indigenous Peoples Rights,Rights, Collective Human,Rights, Equal,Rights, Linguistic
D000329	Advertising	Works about the act or practice of calling public attention to a product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, on radio, or on television. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)	Advertising as Topic,Advertisement as Topic,Telemarketing,Advertisings
D001628	Beverages	Liquids that are suitable for drinking. (From Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)	Beverage
D013660	Taxes	Governmental levies on property, inheritance, gifts, etc.	Institutional Tax,Institutional Taxes,Tax,Taxation,Tax, Institutional,Taxes, Institutional
D026688	Bioethical Issues	Clusters of topics that fall within the domain of BIOETHICS, the field of study concerned with value questions that arise in biomedicine and health care delivery.	Bioethical Issue,Issue, Bioethical,Issues, Bioethical